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A Look at the History of Uranus' Atmosphere

The giant planets have definitely changed since their formation. But how much remains to be seen.

Most of the original air of the giant planets remains in place. (The earth-like planets lost most of their atmospheres very soon after they formed because the atmosphere drifted away).

Unlike Jupiter or Saturn, which are made of simple molecules, Uranus is made mostly of icy material. The reason for this is because the cloud from which the planets formed told what kind of material was to form near Uranus.

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The position of the planets in the solar nebula affected how big they became and what they were made of. The blue line in the picture shows where it became so cold that ice began to form. Planets that...more

The mesosphere of Uranus is a region of balance between warming and cooling. That essentially means that nothing happens there. Except for diffusion, the atmosphere is still. Upper reaches of the atmosphere,...more

As on Earth, the atmosphere of Uranus consists of a troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. The troposphere is the region where the visible clouds are to be found. The stratosphere, as...more

On Uranus, as on Jupiter, the winds in the belts and zones blow first in one direction, then in the other direction. The clouds rise up in a belt, and drop down in a zone, as shown in this picture. This...more

The clouds on Uranus, like Jupiter, are divided into stripes. On Uranus the stripes are hard to find. The left picture shows the north pole of Uranus. In this picture only the smog can be seen. The clouds,...more

The clouds of Uranus, made of methane crystals, are found very low in the sky, and are difficult to find beneath the hazey smog of the pla net. False color is used, in the picture of Uranus to the right,...more